I am happy to report, after much blood, sweat and tears... the 2nd Floor is done. I say done, but as we all know, projects like this are never done. Keened eyed observers may even be able to count how many windows are missing (will have them in hand by the 1st of November).

If you wanna see the first floor, you can see that here:

First_Floor_of_Castle_Ravenloft_is_Done!!

If you wanna know where to download the STLs for this castle you find them here:

MMF - Axolote Gaming - Castle of the Vampire Lord

If you wanna know where the Castle will be next, you can see that here:

Kublacon Fall Nov 13th - 16th, 2026

Hope you enjoy!!

UPDATE: Thanks everyone for the answers!😁

Just opened a Ravenloft Treasure Pack blind bag and got this cool bag but I'm curious what the symbol refers to. My first thought was the druids of Barovia but I'm intrigued if there is a definite solid answer. Couldn't find anything online.🤷‍♂️

Castle Ravenloft was a project I originally undertook back in 2017 and slowly whittled away at over the course of several months; this 'rebirth' of the location was built from the ground up: entirely new textures, floor styles, painting methods, and lighting.

The Castle remains my most memorable location to date due in part both to the process of mapping such an enormous, interconnected layout, as well as to having ran it at my own table. I'm so glad to be able to release a new version of it that gives a vision more appropriately memorable as well.

If you're interested, I've got the whole set of the Castle up on DMsGuild right now--but you can also get a look at the full resolution view of the compiled main floor here for free!

The Headless Horseman is more than just an undead rider with a flaming pumpkin for a head. He's a vengeful spirit bound to the mortal world by an ancient curse, with his steed, armored body, and spectral jack-o'-lantern forming a single, inseparable entity.

Legends tell of a fallen soldier, executioner, or knight who was beheaded for his crimes and returned under a cursed harvest moon. Some believe his spirit is connected to Samhain, when the boundary between the living and the dead grows thin enough for restless spirits to cross.

Wherever he rides, crops rot, animals panic, and the air fills with the smell of smoke and freshly dug earth. And simply defeating him isn't enough. Unless a specific funerary ritual is performed, the Horseman eventually rises again to continue his hunt.

Mechanically, the Headless Horseman is a CR 14 undead built around mobility, relentless pursuit, and devastating attacks. His Fiery Greataxe deals slashing and fire damage, with additional necrotic damage against frightened enemies, while Laughing Skull allows him to hurl his flaming pumpkin head at enemies, unleashing a fiery explosion that deals 10d6 fire damage.

His Ghostride ability lets him pass through solid objects, while his legendary actions allow him to charge across the battlefield, stun enemies with Glare of Embers, or mark a target with Harvest Mark, making that creature especially vulnerable to his attacks.

I've also included four optional traits to customize the encounter, from leaving burning hoofprints behind to relentlessly tracking creatures that try to escape him.

The Headless Horseman is from Undead & Undead: The Ultimate Undead Handbook, available for 5E and the 2024 Edition on DriveThruRPG!

The manual includes 90+ undead statblocks, each with optional traits and variants, alongside an undead lair system, 50+ magic items, customizable templates, necromantic rituals, campaign tools, and VTT resources. It's designed to give DMs plenty of options for building undead encounters, from minor restless spirits to powerful necromantic horrors.

My Kickstarter for 300+ Mythological Items for 5E and 2024 is also live now! The campaign includes a physical hardcover, as well as printed editions of my previous manuals.

You can find more of my creatures, magic items, and manuals on DriveThruRPG, my Linktree, or right here on r/JonnyDM!

https://www.dmsguild.com/en/product/572154/the-return-of-the-black-rose

Greetings! The mega-adventure/campaign “The Return of the Black Rose” is included in the DM's Guild Halloween Sale—reduced from $15.99 to $11.03.

Having read VRGtR as well as the ideas on Fear & Horror in the DMG, I feel that a true Ravenloft campaign would be lacking in the old-school (i.e. 2e Domains of Dread) applications of Fear, Horror, and Madness if the current 5e rules were used for these as written.

So, I am working to make my own. I am copying my FIRST PASS on these below, and I am open to ideas.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fear, Horror, Madness

• These are SPECIAL SAVING THROWS. So, things like Bless, Resistance, some Paladin auras, and similar abilities apply. Guidance does not.
• All PCs are proficient in one of these saves.
  • The proficiency is determined by your primary class. If you multiclass, your primary class is the HIGHER class. ^{(Of note, I am considering making this based on BACKGROUND.})
  • When your character gains 6^th level, you GAIN THE “Jack of all Trades” in one of these, based on class. ^{(If the primary proficiency is based on background, this ability would be based on class.})
• Fear saves use Intelligence; Horror saves use Wisdom, and Madness saves use Charisma.
• If you take the Resilient feat, you may select one of these in place of a standard saving throw, increasing the relevant score. You are still limited to taking Resilient once.
• It is important to note that the Paladin’s Aura of Courage does not apply to Fear saves. It applies to all other saves that cause the frightened condition. ^{(I made this choice as he Fear is originating from an internal source as opposed to external sources where the aura would apply.})

Effects of Fear, Horror, and Madness

• Failing these saves can cause any of the following effects (GM’s discretion and situation dependent)
  • Various standard D&D conditions (Confused, Frightened, Paralyzed, Prone, and Stunned are the most common)
  • Disadvantage on ability checks for a non-disclosed period of time
  • Loss of Hit Dice
    • "I'm sure it's temporary. Don't worry: 'All will be well'."
  • Monster Inspiration
    • Only for use in the relevant combat(s)
• Stress
  • This functions similarly to exhaustion.
  • Calm Emotions suppresses the effects of Stress for the spell’s duration.
  • Once per long rest, Lesser Restoration can reduce stress by one level.
• Temporary, short-term, and long-term madnesses.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That's pretty much it. I have a list of what would be primary and secondary for each class, but I'd love to hear comments on that before I share mine.

I took one look at the Relentless Slasher statblock from Ravenloft: The Horrors Within—what with it using a knife and being unable to speak and the artwork showing a masked dude—and immediately went, "This is totally Michael Myers." I instantly got the idea for a slasher horror one-shot, which I played for my table last Saturday.

I made the following changes to the aforementioned statblock:

- Changed the creature type from Fiend to Humanoid

- Changed the alignment from Neutral Evil to Chaotic Evil

- Added Darklord Restoration

- Gave him an extra Legendary Action and Legendary Resistance in his Domain of Dread (same as what other Darklords get)

If I were to make one additional change, I'd probably give him Proficiency (or even Expertise) in Stealth and Perception like Ravenloft's other resident slasher horror Darklord, Chakuna, but he didn't have that for the one-shot.

For his domain effects, I borrowed a couple from Chakuna and gave Myers Advantage on Wisdom checks and having creatures other than him need to subtract 1d8 from ability checks they make when they try to hide. The third I took from Lord Soth and made it so that, when the borders of his domain are closed, the surrounding Mists are filled with flames (just regular fire, though, and I swapped out the Necrotic damage of said flames for more Fire damage).

The lore I came up with is this: at the end of Halloween (2018), before he could burn to death in Laurie Strode's basement, the Mists claimed Michael and dropped him into a recreation of Haddonfield. The ironic torture he suffers is that the people he hunts appear to him as Laurie Strode (a.k.a. "the one that got away") until he actually kills them, at which point the illusion fades and Michael is left with disappointment. The real Laurie Strode is back on Earth, forever out of his knife's reach.

Halloween fans will probably notice that, because of when I had the Mists pull Myers into Ravenloft, Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends straight up don't happen. Because fuck the latter in particular.

The Mists provide him with a steady supply of victims, but Halloween night is when they actually pull adventurers into Michael's domain of Haddonfield for him to hunt. Thus, we get the premise of the one-shot I ran.

TL;DR is that a Level 5 party of five random strangers got dropped into a spooky house, all separated at first. Of course, as soon as Michael attacked one of them and the player's character screamed, everybody pretty much converged on one location, and it just became a brawl. Nobody actually died, but I came really close to downing one player (who only stayed conscious thanks to his Necrotic Resistance as a Dhampir), and I took off half the Barbarian's health in one hit because he didn't have his Rage up. If the Cleric hadn't put a curse on Michael to give him Disadvantage on his attack rolls, things could've ended a lot bloodier.

Said Cleric was actually the one that got the final hit on Michael. Guess who his new obsession is going to be once he revives? 😈

Part of me wishes I was able to get at least one kill, but my table and I still had fun, so it's still a win in my book.

Has anybody else turned classic horror villains into Darklords or thought about it? Which ones would be the best candidates?

Besides wanting to be with Tatyana for eternity and perhaps escaping his prision inside Barovia, is there anything else that Strahd could want?

I wanted to involve other domains of dread in my main CoS storyline and was thinking that perhaps Strahd had a bigger ambition for power or control.

Maybe Strahd figured that the only way to free himself from the Dark Power's grip was to become a Dark Power himself? So the players have to stop that besides just killing him to end the barovians suffering?

I just wanted a bigger plan for Strahd so I could make my players quest more grand and multiple domains-spanning.

Hi all! I was thinking about using Falkovnia as a setting for my homebrew campaign. I wanted to introduce something akin to the Salem Witch Trials where any magic other than clerical magic is "illegal" but still practiced in secret. I'm also trying to figure out if I want to introduce the Cthulhu Mythos into the campaign as well. Any suggestions for angles to work one or both into the setting?

I just thought it would be fun to play a diviner in Ravenloft because I know that Ravenloft deliberately screws with magic like that.

I figured it could be fun to play that. I talked to the DM at told them its exactly why I was doing it, and they seemed receptive.

This is a read-through review of the original Ravenloft module (for AD&D 1e) on my blog. I mostly review Warhammer RPG material there, but since Hallowe'en is approaching I thought I'd take a look at the grandaddy of gothic horror adventures!

Feedback here or on the blog post itself very welcome.

Found this helpful and so I thought I’d share. (Note: I’m not the author / it’s my not my website / etc. etc.)

EDIT: Typo.

Oh wow! This adventure reminds me of Fallout! I am sooo curious about the tech level.

Hi there, I'm plotting out my campaign's next arc in Kartarkass, and I'm having trouble wrapping my head around how to work in Harkon Lukas' curse. From the Horrors Within:

"The charming werewolf Harkon Lukas manipulates those around him to satisfy his narcissistic needs for adulation and control. Endlessly seeking fame, Harkon travels widely, earning applause and accolades. Yet, whenever he returns to a town he’s performed in, he finds he’s been forgotten. Lukas believes he needs just the right song or inspiration to make himself unforgettable. To that end, he searches for talented protégés, cultivating their skills, then stealing their work. He ensures their loyalty by gifting them copies of his cursed wolf-tooth necklace, Harkon’s Bite, or by transforming them into werewolves. He then manipulates these victims into believing only he will accept them."

All this sounds great to me except the bolded part. How do I play that he is forgotten when he returns to a town? Are my players supposed to forget about him? Or just his music is forgotten? I'm not sure that this will actually be fun unless I'm misunderstanding it. I don't want to mess with my players memories. I'm thinking of throwing it out for something else. Looking for inspiration on how to play it as written or other things I could use for his curse, if anyone has any ideas? Thank you!

“Beware the Autumn People.”

At the edge of Autumn, the carnival arrives.  They offer you their heart’s desire, but no matter what that desire is, the price is always the same.  By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.      

“Dark’s Carnival” is based on Episode 51 of our podcast, "Wonderful World of Darklords", available on apple podcasts, youtube, spotify, and most podcatchers.   
https://redcircle.com/shows/the-wonderful-world-of-darklords

https://www.youtube.com/@WonderfulWorldofDarklord

The 13th of every month we adapt a movie into a Ravenloft Domain and post a new domain write-up on dmsguild.

https://www.dmsguild.com/en/product/587940/dark-s-carnival-a-ravenloft-domain-of-dread?src=newest_community

Happy Gaming!

To connect Disney Villain themed domains closer to Ravenloft and DnD in general (regardless if they are Wonderful World of Dark Lords or not) I've given magic based villains a copy of the Book of Vile Darkness and added the evil spells cast by them into the book. Here's how they work and translate. In my last post, I talked about the black magic from Snow White and the 7 Dwarves, both versions. Which you can see here. https://www.reddit.com/r/ravenloft/comments/1wflojw/adapting_dark_disney_magic_into_ravenloft_and_the/

But today, I'm talking about the dark magic from Disney's other black magic villainess. Maleficent, and Sleeping Beauty

Spinning Wheel Curse

This is one of the most advanced dark magic spells and can only be cast by either the highest level PC's or NPC's. This is because this spell is second only to Wish in terms of power. First off, the spell only works if the target is a baby. It will not work on someone who is at least 3 years old or their race's equivalent. Then, pick a day, pick a time, and they will prick their finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and they will get an appointment with the Raven Queen. In other words, this spell is kind of like the Death Note. And if a spinning wheel is not available for whatever reason, the spell will conjure one. The victim will even be put into a hypnotic trance. FYI, when the target is close enough to the spindle, they can try a wisdom saving throw to snap out of it. Because if you re-watch the movie, you'll notice that Aurora initially was hesitant to touch it. But you have to role at least a 16. Because she was 16 at the time. So it's no wonder she failed that roll.

But don't worry. Like in the movie, there is a way out. That's the GOOD news. The BAD news is, this spell is too powerful for Remove Curse. Only Wish or the modification spell can end this, and I've heavily modified the Wish spell so that it can only be used under VERY VERY VERY specific conditions and the cost is a lot higher. But I digress. A safer way is to modify the spell. And this can only be found in the Book of Exalted Deeds.

Sleeping Spell

As with the Spinning Wheel curse, only the highest leveled practitioners of magic,(in this case, light magic) be they PC or NPC, can cast this. And it does exactly the same thing as in the movie. It turns the death part of the curse into a coma and only love's first case can break it. But like with the poisoned apple from last time, this is not so simple when it comes to DnD.

The victim has anywhere between 3 or 7 days to be awakened or else they will dehydrate. They also have between 43 to 70 days before they starve. If the victim has already kissed their true love, not to worry. Any kiss from whom they love the most works. And again, if the person who can break the spell is unavailable or cannot make it in time, use the true love spell I created in the last post.

Who's got the good stuff?

In search of a woman who knows where a piece of the Apparatus is, the party have to travel the mists to the domain of Dementlieu.

youtube

https://youtu.be/0bOPRt8Yenw

Spotify

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2Ps2yrLPOICWLC0dXuQXK5?si=Os3NB2RdSRKG0hiPxEoaUw

​

Our group played tonight trying to escape Castle

Ravenloft. They defeated Rahadin and had to find their way back out. They almost had to fight the golems in the brazier room but made it out in time.

I'd appreciate it if you take a look. You can find the livestream here: https://youtube.com/live/VM8eHO\\_wrfU?feature=share

Hi folks. My latest Ravenloft video is about which monsters from "Monsters of Drakkenheim" work well in Ravenloft's Domains of Dread (spoiler alert: there's lots that work well for Hazlan and Lamordia especially!).

Feels fitting doing this video given that Ghostfire Gaming - one of the creators of Drakkenheim - are creating more Ravenloft content in the future (you can learn more about that here). So I thought it'd be a good video to do.

I don't share all my videos on here, so if you want to make sure you see future videos then please consider subscribing: DM of the Mists. Cheers!

If anyone can find one and post it in the comments that would be great

My take on Strahd's Nightmare

I started by turning Sam into a Dark Lord. In his origin, I wrote that he was once an angel in service of The Raven Queen and was actually the one who suggested to her that the day of her ascension to godhood would become the DnD version of Halloween. In other words, he invented The Night of Ascension. He also wrote down the 4 rules present in the movie.

1. Always wear a costume
2. Always give candy
3. Never blow out a jack-o-lantern before midnight
4. Respect the dead

But not everyone worships The Raven Queen. And for some, The Night of Ascension is just Tuesday. This angered Sam and one Night of Ascension, he entered the Mortal Realm and the stories in the movie all played out. This, however, angered the Raven Queen. Because Sam's actions damaged the holiday's reputation. I mean, werewolves showing up at a costume party, teens getting killed over a typical halloween prank, kids getting poisoned, someone dying over blowing out a jack-o-lantern too early no matter how bad they were, this does NOT look good on any record.

So, The Raven Queen cast Sam out of her realm, and The Dark Powers took him. They turned him into a Dark Lord who would turn one settlement from any DnD setting you choose into a temporary Ravenloft domain. There, Sam hunts down and kill anyone who dares break a rule. Your party must survive until midnight and can either either protect rulebreakers, or work alongside Sam to kill rulebreakers.

With this info, what stories and adventures would you make?